PICTURED: Illinois Wesleyan senior defender Mariah Smith (LEFT) and senior goalkeeper Claire Quist (RIGHT). Both Smith and Quist were All-CCIW First Team selections last season.
NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan was predicted to win the 2018 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) women’s lacrosse title based on the CCIW’s annual preseason coaches’ poll announced Thursday.
The Titans (14-6, 5-1) won the coaches’ poll with 36 points and six first place votes. Led by head coach Lindsey Kellar, Illinois Wesleyan won their first-ever CCIW Tournament title in 2017 to win the conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championship. It was the program’s first appearance in the NCAA postseason.
Carthage (11-6, 4-2) placed second in the poll with 31 points and one first place vote as the Lady Reds finished third and qualified for the CCIW Tournament last season.
Three-time defending CCIW regular season champion Augustana (11-7, 6-0) was third with 25 points after the Vikings advanced to the CCIW Tournament title match last season.
North Central (10-8, 3-3) finished fourth with 22 points as the Cardinals placed fourth and earned a CCIW Tournament berth in 2017.
Carroll (2-15, 0-6), Dubuque (9-8, 2-4) and Elmhurst (2-15, 1-5) rounded out the poll with 13, 12 and eight points, respectively.
Voting is done by the CCIW's head women’s lacrosse coaches. Each coach votes for the six other schools in the conference in order of predicted finish. Points are assigned in reverse order of voting (six points for first, five for second, etc.). Coaches do not vote for their own teams.
| 2018 Preseason Women's Lacrosse Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
Institution |
Points (1st Pl. Votes) |
| 1 |
Illinois Wesleyan |
36 (6) |
| 2 |
Carthage |
31 (1) |
| 3 |
Augustana |
25 |
| 4 |
North Central |
22 |
| 5 |
Carroll |
13 |
| 6 |
Dubuque |
12 |
| 7 |
Elmhurst |
8 |
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2016-17 academic year, the CCIW honored over 1,900 academic all-conference recipients, 10 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 33 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, one CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year and over 100 all-Americans.